Why You Can Trust CNET Lenovo's new $50 Google Assistant-powered smart clock is now for sale
If a full-blown smart display seems too daunting, Lenovo's Smart Clock Essential might be the right choice for your bedside.
Lenovo has made its $49 Smart Clock Essential available for purchase today. If you're like the idea of a smart speaker with a visual information element, but you're not yet ready to go full smart display, Lenovo's new Smart Clock Essential may be the right choice for you.
The Smart Clock Essential is a pared-down version of the Lenovo Smart Clock that launched last year. Where the 2019 edition had a full-color smart display built in to show your calendar and the feed from a smart camera, the 2020 version is basically just a black-and-white alarm clock display wrapped around a Google Assistant smart speaker. It will show you the time, the day of the week and the current temperature, but that's about it. It's a closer competitor to the Amazon Echo Dot with Clock than the Amazon Echo Show 5 smart display.
As a smart speaker, the Lenovo Smart Clock Essential will still play music and you can still interact with it like you would with any Google Nest Mini speaker. It's also only $50, making it $10 cheaper than the Amazon's new, spherical Echo Dot with Clock.
Lenovo says you'll find the Lenovo Smart Clock Essential available from Walmart and Best Buy, among other retailers.